Purgatorio
by Shun'u
Summary: [AU: Sequel to Full Circle] Something is stirring the spirits in Sengoku Jidai while ghosts are showing up throughout 21st century Japan. If that weren't enough, they're being drawn to the Higurashi Shrine...
1. Teaser

****

P U R G A T O R I O

· |· Sequel to Full Circle · |· 

An Inuyasha Fanfiction

By Shun'u

· |· h_shunu@hotmail.com** · |· **

Purgatory (as defined in Merriam-Webster Dictionary)**:**

1: an intermediate state after death for expiatory purification; _specifically_**:** a place or state of punishment wherein according to Roman Catholic doctrine the souls of those who die in God's grace may make satisfaction for past sins and so become fit for heaven.  
**2:** a place or state of temporary suffering or misery.

Rating: PG-13 (tentative)

****

Cast:

Higurashi Kagome

Sesshoumaru

Kikyou

Inuyasha

Mrs. Higurashi

Grandpa Higurashi

Souta

Hojo

Guest Starring: "The Bad Guy" ( To be announced at a later date )

****

Due to be posted in 2003

Fanfiction.net

http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=61008

****

Shun'u Updates Mailing List

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shunu

****


	2. 1 Warnings and Disclaimers

Title:

PURGATORIO 

Part:

1 – Warnings and Disclaimers

Author:

Shun'u [ff.net ID: 61008]

Series:

Inuyasha

Genre:

Supernatural/Suspense

Rating:

PG-13

Disclaimer:

Inuyasha, its characters and original storyline are © to Rumiko Takahashi, Shonen Sunday, and subsequent parties. "Purgatorio" is an original fanfiction © to Shun'u [h_shunu@hotmail.com].

**Posted:**

January 2003 

**Author's Notes and Review Responses:**

First off, thank you _so_ much for the reviews! Wow. Before the first chapter came out, even. Imagine that. *sniff* You guys make me so happy! *hugs* Okay, quick note. This chapter is shorter than I expected, but I had to cut it off before going into further details. (Needed to iron out some things that will be happening next.) Besides *grin* anticipation of meeting Sesshoumaru in this series of stories will be good for you.

^_^

*ducks flying objects*

Shun'u 

For early updates and teasers, please join my updates mailing list at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shunu

My Author's Page on Fanfiction.net is located here:

http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=61008

Feel free to email me anytime. I'll try to respond promptly… honest! ^_^v

mailto:h_shunu@hotmail.com

mailto:shunu@fanfiction.net

In response to Cacat-angel:

Hmm… Atoning for sins is good, don't you think? ^_^ But whether or not he'll receive love… now _that_'s the question!

In response to aoko:

I'm hoping to develop all of the characters further and further with each story in this series. Inuyasha ^^; doesn't go away. Actually, he's very active in this story. He is the title character after all. Besides, I like him. Not as much as other *cough* characters, but I still like him. *grin*

In response to Slice:

LOL I'm sooo happy to have converted someone to alternate pairings! insert evil grin You wouldn't believe how many people began to root for Sesshoumaru after reading my fics early on – back in the days when no one even know Naraku or Onigumo existed! Heh. Makes me feel ancient to know that I've followed Inuyasha from the first day it came out (_in Japan as manga, mind you…) ^^;_

In response to hope of dragons:

Does this meet your expectations somewhat? I know it's short, but then, I'm working on a longer chapter two.

In response to Momiji:

Did you know that your name has the same meaning as 'Kaede'? Interesting choice. I'll try to update quicker. Can't promise anything though. *sigh* Life's just too busy.

In response to cutelilseffy:

Thanks! Don't die on me yet. This is a little of what happens next.

In response to Cin of an Angel:

Wow… I love you too. Just for reviewing! Hehe. Oh, and Shippou will remain with Inuyasha during this story. Hmm… don't know if I should be telling y'all this, but Shippou will be with Inuyasha and the others while Souta's with Kagome in her time. *innocent smile* Gee… I wonder…

In response to ForestKarma:

First chapter up! I wish I could write as much as the rest of you. *sniff* Honest. It'd be great to be able to churn out chapters like other authors.

In response to Miko-chan:

Thanks! Please keep reviewing. I've discovered that reviews keep me happy and happiness is really, really good for keeping me writing. This isn't blackmail, mind you. ^_~ It's just that writer's block usually hits when I'm down and reviews keep my spirits boosted.

In response to Elsie:

You've got it. Dante Alighieri's very own. Of course this isn't based on the book. I'm using the Italian word 'purgatorio' because I like the sound of it better than the English 'purgatory.'

In response to ashleekyle:

I'll continue! ^_^ Thanks for reviewing!

In response to Junsui:

^^; I hope that my updates are better this time around too… And can you believe that while I'm udpating this I'm also outlining another Inuyasha fanfic? Don't worry though! I won't do that one until I'm done with this.

In response to Silver Dragonfly:

Hehehe… I'm sorry to have left you hanging. It's just that FC's plot ended there. I had to stay "in character" with the series too and not make it an end to Naraku, if you know what I mean. He's too vital to the rest of the story to kill off that soon. Also, I need him to develop Kikyou. *smirk* Yes, I like to write about her too. (Btw, I'm still thinking of your offer. Will get back to you soon.)

In response to PhoenixBlade:

Thanks for reviewing!

In response to Alexiel:

Hey, I like your screen name there. Makes me want to watch Angel Sanctuary all over again. Hmm. No! _Must resist_ _temptation!_ Hehe. Thanks for the compliments! Hope that the characters stay in character in this one too. Believe me. It's very tempting to speed things up. Just can't because Sesshoumaru (not to mention Kagome and Inuyasha to top things off) are rather stubborn characters and set in their ways. *sigh* Ah well. Makes it all the more interesting to write about them, doesn't it? ^_~

  
Purgatory 

(as defined in Merriam-Webster)

**1: an intermediate state after death for expiatory purification; _specifically_****: a place or state of punishment wherein according to Roman Catholic doctrine the souls of those who die in God's grace may make satisfaction for past sins and so become fit for heaven.  
  
**

**2: a place or state of temporary suffering or misery.**

  


P U R G A T O R I O 

**· |· Sequel to [Full Circle][1] ****· |·**

An Inuyasha Fanfiction

By Shun'u

Part I: Warnings and Disclaimers 

Four figures sat silhouetted against the irregular flickering of a lone candle. The room was otherwise dark. It was well past dusk, but this could barely be discerned as all of the windows had been tightly shuttered and the heavy blue curtains worked only too well in isolating the inhabitants of the room from the hostile environment outside.

Beyond drapes and glass and plaster walls, a storm was brewing. Come daylight most of the yellowed leaves still stubbornly clinging to the delicate maple trees would have conceded defeat to the greater forces of nature and fallen to the ground. In uneven patches of wilted veins and sodden vellum, the leaves would carpet stone and dirt paths until some industrious soul came along to rake in the damp heaps.

However, the annual changing of leaves had no bearing upon the four figures, as they were warm and dry within the softly lit room. They were comfortable in their thick robes, and took for granted that they were safe within the confines of the measly four walls, floor, and ceiling.

Minutes had passed in silence and none of them had as yet to move. They dared not. All stared in mute and morbid fascination at the objects set in the center of the square table they surrounded on all four sides.

The open flame wavered more violently as a chilly autumn draft flew across the wooden floor and snaked over their exposed, newly polished toes. A set of staring eyes blinked, snapped out of semi-trance. Two others gasped and shivered, clutching their robes more tightly against their chests while curling their toes. And then…

One dared to speak. "I still say that Ouiji Boards should always come packaged with a vial of holy water and a silver cross."

"Yuko!" The shadow across from the speaker hissed nervously. She hunched her shoulders and wrapped her arms more tightly against something unseen. Her perpetually worn yellow headband gleamed when she lowered her head, candlelight catching upon the cheap plastic.

Yuko flipped her curly shoulder-length hair unrepentantly. She said to Ayako, "Well, those would be better than having some stupid disclaimer that says, 'For ages 12+,' or 'This is only a toy.' I mean, really, who reads those things anyhow? That'd be like assuming that people actually _read instructions before using cell phones."_

Yuko's chocolate brown eyes held twin flames in their warm depths as they reflected the candlelight. She grinned gamely to her friend with the cute bob haircut.

"Right, Naomi?"

Naomi offered up a weak smile. If her giggle was more than a little forced, the intrepid Yuko never noticed. "Yuko-chan, you say the funniest things." Naomi clamped her mouth shut to stop the telling nervous giggle from transforming into hysterical cackling; she had been set against this game from the start.

Yuko turned to her last possible ally. "How about you, Kagome-chan?"

Kagome blinked and refocused on her three friends. She could have sworn that just a moment ago she had felt the presence of a shard. Shaking her head, she said absently, "Sure, Yuko-chan."

Yuko smiled triumphantly. "See? I'm not the only one who thinks that."

"Ano… Yuko-chan," Naomi ventured to suggest, "aren't holy water and silver crosses used against vampires?"

"Uh… yeah, I think so." Yuko said after a moment's deliberation, quite oblivious to her friends' groans of exasperation.

Ayako dropped her head onto the table with a faint clunk. She asked faintly, her voice muffled by terrycloth sleeve and table, "Then, what good would they be around ghosts?"

Yuko's lips parted. For a long drawn-out moment no sound came out. Finally, she threw her hands into the air and declared, "It's still not a bad idea."

Ayako looked at Yuko with weary indulgence.

Naomi looked at Kagome with a look that clearly said, "There goes Yuko again."

The tension broke as they all fell into gales of laughter at their own nervousness. Somehow the girlish giggles made the darkened room a little less ominous.

"Okay," Ayako said. "Enough of our cowardliness. Let's start this game!" Thus saying, Ayako reset the rectangular board with its imitation wood coloring and bold calligraphic letters and numbers in a high arch in the center of the table. The candle was moved to the top edge of the board.

Kagome watched Yuko pull a palm-sized triangular piece with a window through the center out of the cardboard box. The window was supposed to allow them to view the letters as spirits guided the piece to answer their questions. She still felt a little out of sync with her friends. Half of her attention was focused inward and anticipating an angry Inuyasha to come bursting through the doorway any moment demanding that she return with him through the well. The other half was still scattered and searching for that elusive shard that she had detected.

Naomi was just saying something about deciding who should start up the game when Kagome once again felt that odd shiver run down her spine, indicating a shard of the Shikon Jewel was nearby. But just as before the feeling was fleeting and immediately disappeared. Kagome almost laughed aloud at her own skittishness. Her imagination was being hyperactive this night.

"It says here," Yuko read, "that we're supposed to concentrate on the board and ask a question. They have to be simple yes/no questions or the kind that can be answered with a single word."

"Sounds simple enough," Naomi muttered. She was still scared but determined not to back out.

Ayako looked at all of them expectantly and held out her hands, palms upturned. "So? Shall we ladies?"

Kagome felt a bead of sweat roll down her temple. "Um… Ayako-chan… what are you doing?"

"Er," Ayako blushed, "aren't we supposed to hold hands or something like that?"

**********

The creature moved with an innate grace. Stealth came easily to his kind for they were natural born predators, created by the gods to be hunters. Corded muscles played in breathtaking harmony as he stalked his prey relentlessly.

And this time…

This time… his prey was going to return with him to the past come hell or high water.

"Inuyasha, what are you doing?"

The hunter screamed and clawed his way up the nearest tree trunk. Once safely out of reach of the surprise attack, he glared down bravely.

"Damn it, Houshi!" He snarled furiously to cover a growing sense of embarrassment. "What the hell do you think you're doing sneaking up on me like that?"

Ever the suave and unruffled one, Miroku said calmly, "I wasn't sneaking, Inu Baka."

He had recently discovered that Inuyasha did not have an appreciation for sarcasm. Miroku insightfully surmised that his friend's lack of appreciation for satire had something to do with Inuyasha's elder and much more caustic brother.

He said, "You weren't paying attention."

Now _that_ was an unjust accusation if ever the hanyou heard one. Inuyasha hopped down from his perch and straightened to his full height.

"Feh. Whatever, Miroku." Inuyasha said arrogantly, "Youkai don't need to be on guard to catch a human sneaking about."

Miroku smirked knowingly, deciding that the issue wasn't worth arguing over. His glance returned to the object of Inuyasha's interest earlier.

"Were you going through the well?" he asked casually, carefully not noticing the intense blush spreading across the hanyou's cheeks. No doubt Inuyasha would deny any and all concern for Kagome if Miroku made any pointed references to the young lady.

"It has only been four days," he reminded his over-anxious friend.

Inuyasha grumbled under his breath.

Miroku leaned in. He asked, "What was that? I didn't quite catch what you said."

Inuyasha scowled and repeated angrily, "She's late! She said she'd only be away for four days."

Miroku blinked uncomprehendingly. "But… Inuyasha, today's only the fourth day."

"The sun's already set. It's the fourth _night," Inuyasha stressed the last word. "She should have been back two hours ago."_

Miroku coughed lightly. He was tempted. Oh yes, very much so. But he refrained from telling Inuyasha that he was splitting hairs and Kagome would probably be returning in the morning.

"I take it you'll be going to get her soon then?"

Inuyasha grunted a non-reply irritably. Now that he had said all that out loud it seemed rather petty. Miroku suddenly threw him off balance when he clapped Inuyasha on the shoulder.

"Well, good luck to you Inuyasha. I hope Kagome-sama's in a generous mood, for I fear that you will most definitely be hearing The Word this night."

"Thanks _so_ much for your vote of confidence."

"That's what friends are for," Miroku said, cheerfully ignoring Inuyasha's baleful glare.

Inuyasha felt the very uncharitable urge to wring his friend's neck.

**********

"What should we ask first?" Ayako wondered. They had been debating on what to ask the board for a solid ten minutes. Producing an idea only to discard it as being too ordinary.

Finally, Yuko was struck with inspiration. "How about we ask about Kagome-chan's secret boyfriend?"

Kagome quickly snapped to attention. She stuttered, "W- what?"

"Oh yes," Yuko produced an impish grin, "We'll ask what his name is!"

"B- but!" Kagome looked to the others for help.

However, help was not to be found for like most young women of a certain age, there was nothing more enthralling than a secret love affair or a tryst under the moonlight. Nothing was more romantic than an illicit assignation between star-crossed lovers. For what else could Kagome and her mysterious young man be, if she were this hesitant to divulge his identity? It all made _perfect_ sense to her childhood friends.

"Wait." Naomi, kind soul, felt badly for Kagome being put on the spot. She tried to give her friend an escape route. "Maybe Kagome-chan doesn't _have_ one. Shouldn't we ask first if she does? Then we'll ask the board who he is," she suggested.

Ayako agreed. "Good idea, Naomi-chan. " She turned to a very nervous Kagome. Her smiled turning slightly menacing in Kagome's opinion. "So… Kagome-chan, _do_ you have a secret admirer?"

Kagome turned slightly pink. For some reason her tongue was cleaved to the roof of her mouth; she was having quite a bit of difficulty speaking.

Yuko said, "Ayako-chan! You're supposed to ask the board, not Kagome!"

The sound of something small and solid bumping against the table went unnoticed by everyone save Naomi.

In a bare and shivering whisper, Naomi said, "Uh… maybe you don't have to." She pointed at the source of the thumping sound. "Look."

The girls watched in silent, frozen fear as the triangular piece shook and trembled at the center of the table. Shaking faster and faster with every passing second. Bumping against the table more heavily and violently each time that it did. Moved by an unseen force – for nothing was touching the piece, as it raised one, no, two inches to hover in the air – the triangle slowly rotated as the girls held their collective breaths to answer their eager question.

/YES/

"Oh gods," Yuko choked out after interminable moments of having held her breath. She stared up into Kagome's wide, disbelieving eyes.

The candle flickered one last, token time before a breath of air extinguished its warmth.

One, two, three blinks later, terrified screams ricocheted off the walls as chair legs scraped the polished wooden floor and shoulders bumped roughly in the dark.

"Somebody turn on the light!"

"Oh Go~~d!"

"Please don't let there be a real ghost in here!"

"Everyone, calm down!"

Kagome rushed to flip on the light switch after yelling her command to be heard over the high-pitched cacophony. She blinked, momentarily blinded while her pupils adjusted to the instant influx of white light. Once her sight returned, she could see that nothing had changed in the room but for the girls all standing up. There, still suspended at the center of the table and over the Ouiji board, was the wooden triangle. She slowly made her way back to her seat and almost sat down before remembering that her chair had been pushed too far back and she would have landed on the floor. Kagome opted to stand.

"Kagome-chan," Naomi's lips trembled nearly as much as the rest of her girlish body. She pleaded, "_Do_ something."

"What?" Kagome began to back away and wound up knocking into Ayako and Yuko who had moved to stand at each shoulder behind her. Naomi huddled closer and clutched at her left sleeve. Apparently the three girls had silently and unanimously voted Kagome as their spokesperson with the dead. "B- but, why me?"

"Because," Yuko quickly grabbed Kagome's right shoulder and kept her from wriggling to freedom, "you're the bravest, Kagome-chan."

Kagome shook her head in denial the instant she heard that, but knew her protests would be futile when they all nodded their heads simultaneously. With a soft sigh she resigned herself to the inevitable. _What should I do?_

"Um…" Kagome cleared her throat, "hello?"

Nothing.

"Is anyone there?"

The triangle piece shook and spun. It landed back precisely where it was before moving. Their ghost was a perfectionist.

/YES/

Kagome grimaced. _Oh, great._ She swallowed but forced herself to continue.

"Who are you?" she asked.

Maddeningly slow, the piece moved.

"It's spelling something," Yuko said. The excitement was plain to hear in her tone. Her fingers dug into Kagome's shoulder almost painfully but neither noticed for they were focused solely on the board.

-F-R-I-E-N-D-

_Yeah, right!_ Kagome thought a little hysterically. She asked the next logical question. "What's your name?"

No answer.

"So… umm…" At a loss as to what to call their unexpected spectral guest, Kagome dubbed him, "Yuurei-san." She giggled nervously and hoped that she was not offending the ghost. The last thing they needed was for a spirit to be angry with them.

"Dear gods," Ayako groaned from somewhere behind her. She asked of no one in particular, "did Kagome-chan just call it 'Mr. Ghost'?"

Yuko rubbed her sweaty palms against her blue robe. "I'm afraid so."

Meanwhile, Kagome was saying, "Are you here to harm us?"

This time the triangle did not wobble or make a single startling thump against and table. Instead it made a slithering sound against the glossy corkboard as it rotated exactly 90 degrees from its spot directly between the YES and NO.

/NO/

"Oh, good." Kagome's muscles relaxed minutely even as her nerves jangled. "Did- did we call you through the board?"

/YES/

Kagome traded ambivalent glances with the others. "Well, then, can you tell us why you're here?"

/YES/

Naomi suddenly burst out of her silence. "You aren't one of those ghosts who wants to take revenge on the people who harmed you while you were living or something, are you?"

She crossed her arms defensively when she got weird looks from her friends. "What? You know how they always say that people who died violently come back for retribution. My grandmother says that their souls can't rest and they can't move on to heaven. Then there are the ones who sinned so much in their lives, but didn't sin enough to be sent to hell, so they're stuck between heaven and hell until they repay for their sins or…"

Naomi stopped chattering when she noticed that all she got were slightly slack jaws and blank stares. She ducked her head and said sheepishly, "My grandmother's Catholic."

The lights began to flicker again, startling the girls into grabbing onto each other. Softly at first, the sound of amused masculine laughter built in the air, causing all of the teenagers to yelp and hold onto each other even tighter.

Their ghost had a voice.

"Yu- Yuurei-san?" Kagome asked.

A tall man's image blinked in and out of sight. Kagome could briefly make out the appearance of deep red hair and forest green, exotic eyes. However, she did not focus on either of these features as something more vital caught her attention: the glitter of a shard embedded in each earlobe like sparkling diamond earrings. That, and the swishing tail that she could see behind him while he stared straight at her.

Their mysterious ghost not only possessed shards of the Shikon Jewel. He was also a kitsune.

"Yuurei-san?" Kagome suddenly felt a callused hand glide along the edge of her jaw. She turned but saw and felt nothing else until a fleeting touch prickled the top of her hand. Goosebumps raised where the ghostly fingers had run across hyper-sensitized skin.

Almost in a panic by this point, she yelled furiously, "Yuurei-san!"

Empty.

The room felt so much bigger without the ghost's presence. There was suddenly enough oxygen to breathe easily instead of with tight gasping pants. Kagome knew that this wouldn't be the last time she would meet their ghost although it would be the only time for her friends. They would be able to go home after this night and recall this incident as simply a result of their over-imagination.

Her friends started to laugh as their minds jumped to the easiest and least troubling conclusion. The still nervous but, easy chatter barely intruded on Kagome's thoughts, which had turned introspective. She numbly sat and watched Yuko put the incriminating board away before Yuko's mother discovered them playing with it, while Ayako turned on the karaoke system and Naomi shuffled through piles of the latest J-Pop CDs.

Unfortunately for her, there would be no such delusion. The jewel, after all, always drew trouble. This time trouble had followed her into the 21st century and came in the unlikely form of a dead kitsune caught in the middle plane of existence Christians called Purgatory.

**********

Something was wrong. Kikyou could feel it in the air. The souls were restless and harder to find. Her soul stealers were gathering less and less these many days. Not because of unwillingness to do her bidding, but because, as they reported, the souls were disappearing before they could be harvested. Into thin air, apparently, and without reason.

At first she had suspected Naraku and had gone in search of him, only to discover from the strange white girl named Kanna that he too was missing. Missing to the point that Kanna with her enchanted mirror could not find her master.

Strange. Very strange…

This was something that required investigating. She would start by contacting Kaede. Her sister's powers were mediocre, but many travelers remembered tales of the powerful miko who had protected the Shikon Jewel and defeated demons with ease, and often sought Kaede's wisdom, thinking that what one sister had surely the other equaled. They were wrong. However, in return for Kaede's sage advice they would often bring her information from lands far and wide.

Even if Kaede were to know of nothing, Kikyou reasoned, certainly Inuyasha or someone else in his well traveled group would. Kikyou started on her way towards Inuyasha's forest.

Along the way she let her awareness spread and encompass everything within her considerable range of power. Seeking, feeling for the souls of the dead. She found nothing. Not even the souls of small animals could be found. There was simply an emptiness to the world where before there had been life.

Kikyou was worried. Always she had been careful in her gathering. She had never lingered in any place too long, never consumed more souls than wise. Moving from place to place, she had made sure that the circle of life was unbroken and enough souls would be left so that new lives could be born. Now something had disrupted that chain and broken the circle. Something, or someone, she thought darkly.

It would either take someone of great power to destroy all of those souls, or someone seeking great power to consume all of them so greedily and recklessly. Her anger grew as she made progress towards the forest. Anger that changed to confusion and curiosity by each step as she became aware that the dense forest contained more spirits than it normally did.

_The souls are being drawn here: to the forest. Why?_

Kikyou hastened to reach Kaede, Inuyasha, and answers to what was happening in Inuyasha's forest.

**********

Hope it was okay… a little slow start, but chapter 2 will have more action _and more characters. ^_^ Please review and let me know what you think._

Shun'u

[http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=61008][2]

[http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shunu][3]

   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=303554
   [2]: http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=61008
   [3]: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shunu



	3. 2 Sealed in Time

Title: 

PURGATORIO 

Part: 

2 – Sealed in Time 

Author: 

Shun'u [ff.net ID: 61008] 

Series: 

Inuyasha 

Genre: 

Supernatural/Suspense 

Rating: 

PG-13 

Disclaimer: 

Inuyasha, its characters and original storyline are © to Rumiko Takahashi, Shonen Sunday, and subsequent parties. "Purgatorio" is an original fanfiction © to Shun'u [h_shunu@hotmail.com]. ****

Posted: ****

January 2003 ****

Author's Notes and Review Responses:

Hi again! ^_^ I'm _so_ happy that this fic is being well received. Thanks again for the nice and long reviews. Helps a lot to know what readers like/dislike about the story and characters.

__

Shun'u

For early updates and teasers, please join my updates mailing list at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shunu

My Author's Page on Fanfiction.net is located here:

http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=61008

Feel free to email me anytime. I'll try to respond promptly… honest! ^_^v

mailto:h_shunu@hotmail.com

mailto:shunu@fanfiction.net

In response to Celyia:

You're too kind! *^_^* Believe me when I say that I've been a fan of your stories for while. Whenever I hit writer's block it's usually your stories or Rymsie's or Deleria's that I read to get back into the groove of writing Inuyasha again. Glad to hear that you got a few laughs out of part 1. It's always fun to play around with the characters, isn't it?

In response to Cin of an Angel:

*grin* Poor Inuyasha is right. I almost feel guilty about being so mean to the poor guy all the time… heh. Hope to appease your curiosity about the spirits soon – not to mention having Sess show up. ;)

In response to Bishonen no Hime:

Thanks! I'll try to update soon. Maybe in a week? Cross your fingers (ignore the "hope to die" part… ew… how gruesome…). ^_^

In response to Lady Calliope:

Thanks for reviewing! ^_^ I'm sorry that the trilogy is taking _so_ long in the making. Very difficult to find time (I sound like a broken record, don't I?) but I'm sure you understand how that is. Alas, I cannot answer your guess about my kitsune ghost. Hehe. Oh, and thank you for pointing out that typo. I'll fix that in a jiffy.

In response to Missy:

Glad to hear that you like it. Please check back again in a week or so. I'm doing my best to keep my New Year's resolutions of writing more and responding to reviews better.

In response to laura:

It's very hard to be original nowadays with the huge surge of Inuyasha fanfics hitting the net. Especially with the number of S/K fics out there… ^^; Anyhow, a lot of times I'd outline a fic only to find out that there's something similar already posted on ff.net. Usually I'll end up trashing my story (like my Kaede fic) and read the other person's story instead. Good to hear that you like this story. Sorry to hear that it brought up memories of your bad experience with the ouiji board. Can't say that I believe in them myself since I've avoided using one my whole life. However, I _do_ believe in ghosts… Anyone who goes to the movies with me is practically guaranteed a scream if the movie involves ghosts. Except, of course, for that one movie with Patrick Swayze in it. ^_^

In response to Dark Star:

What you say about Shippou is very interesting. Hmm… Food for thought: would it matter whether you're killing a good or a bad person, when the end result is the same and you've "killed" someone? Don't answer that. ^^; I'm reading too much into what you wrote. But yes, the soul part will be interesting indeed. Unfortunately, I will not be killing Kikyou. Sorry to burst anyone's bubble out there… *L* Is anyone else hearing the little people from "The Wizard of Oz" chanting, "ding dong the wicked witch is dead!"

In response to Momiji:

"Kaede" also means "maple tree". If you've ever seen Blue Seed, the two sisters' names are Momiji (the main character) and Kaede (the sister Kusanagi used to protect before Momiji).

In response to Alyson Metallium:

Hehe. So I've got you hooked already, eh? Oho ho ho~ ^_~ Actually, while I was writing the ouiji board scene I was spooked myself. ^^; Don't laugh! I had goosebumps and everything while writing part one. This is going to sound so bizarre but I sometimes re-read my fics to refresh my memory of what has happened, and I'll end up laughing just as if it was someone else's story. Talk about off the wall.

In response to Alexiel:

…Oho! How perceptive! ^_~ (Let's see how many people backtrack to read your review to see what I mean by that. *grin*)

In response to Silver Dragonfly:

Thanks for reviewing!

In response to ChaosCat:

^_^ Happiness is good! Heh. Your review has me picturing a cat jumping off the walls after it's had one too many sniffs of catnip…

In response to j.:

The suspense! The suspense! =P Actually it's killing me too! ^^; I'm actually plotting and re-plotting while at work because I can't sit down to write…

In response to Slice:

Oh yes, the kitsune will play an important part. He's the catalyst to what's happening in both times.

In response to Elsie:

Thanks for reviewing. I hope to put out the next part soon.

In response to Thryraci:

I couldn't remember Kagome's friends' names so I made them up… ^^; Does anyone happen to know their names? It's not really important, since most of the time they're treated generically by the Takahashi herself, but it'd be good trivia to know. Thanks for the input about the mood in that scene. I was really curious to find out what people would think about it.

****

Purgatory

(as defined in Merriam-Webster)

****

1: an intermediate state after death for expiatory purification; _specifically_**:** a place or state of punishment wherein according to Roman Catholic doctrine the souls of those who die in God's grace may make satisfaction for past sins and so become fit for heaven.

****

2: a place or state of temporary suffering or misery.

****

P U R G A T O R I O

· |· Sequel to Full Circle **· |·**

An Inuyasha Fanfiction

By Shun'u

Miroku and Sango often found it wise to remain out of sight whenever Inuyasha got into one of his more… difficult moods. This was why presently they were indoors with Kaede and Shippou while Inuyasha remained stubbornly outside. The previous day Inuyasha had been contemplating going through the well to retrieve Kagome from her time. Miroku hadn't had the heart to argue with Inuyasha about it, however, Sango had no such reservations.

****

***Flashback***

"Well, good luck to you Inuyasha. I hope Kagome-sama's in a generous mood, for I fear that you will most definitely be hearing 'The Word' this night."

"Thanks _so_ much for your vote of confidence."

"That's what friends are for," Miroku said, cheerfully ignoring Inuyasha's baleful glare.

Inuyasha felt the very uncharitable urge to wring his friend's neck.

"What are the two of you up to?"

"Sango-sama!" Miroku greeted the demon exterminator jovially. He didn't bat a single eyelash at Sango's wary glance at his hands. Although it _was_ rather unfair of her to immediately suspect him of any wrongdoing. He was, after all, a religious man.

"How are you faring this day? We haven't seen you all morning. I daresay that the company has been rather dull without your beauteous presence."

Sango's eyebrow twitched not once, but twice before the flat of her palm made contact with Miroku's smooth cheek, therefore she considered it fair warning before her strike. Miroku quickly removed his wandering hand and rubbed at his newly acquired injury.

"I'm hurt, Sango-sama," he winced and sighed dramatically.

"Houshi-sama!" Sango fairly crackled with maidenly indignation. Miroku was so entranced by how anger made her cheeks flare with blushing color that he barely noted her words. "You- you-" she almost choked on her indignation. "I can't BELIEVE you! Argh!"

"Oi, Miroku," Inuyasha drawled lazily. "Why don't you just give it up already?"

He had been watching everything transpire from a safe distance. Sango was very efficient with her boomerang and for some reason unknown to Inuyasha and Miroku, her fury after one of Miroku's lecherous attempts was indiscriminate against all things male. In fact, the only male safe from her during those times was Shippou. But then, maybe that was because young Shippou was more intelligent than the average male when it came to understanding the fairer sex.

In response to Inuyasha's unwelcome suggestion, Miroku made a rude gesture with his finger from behind Sango's back at Inuyasha. Inuyasha twitched but Sango diverted his attention.

"Inuyasha," she said suspiciously, "you weren't planning on interrupting Kagome-chan's time with her family, were you?"

Inuyasha looked away guiltily. Sango had a manner of speaking that often made him feel about two inches tall, especially when the subject involved Kagome. Sure it wasn't as bad as how his brother made him feel – which was barely reaching one inch tall on one of Sesshoumaru's _good_ days – but still, he would rather not risk the wrath of Sango.

"Feh," Inuyasha grumbled defensively. "Why would I want her back? She's nothing but trouble anyhow. Always needing someone to watch over her or rescue her from trouble."

"Oh really," Sango gave Inuyasha a cool, cutting glare, "then you wouldn't mind waiting and letting her spend quality time with her _family_, will you, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha winced when Sango smacked Miroku's searching hand in passing without bothering to look at the monk.

"Well…" Miroku said philosophically, "that went better than expected."

****

***End Flashback***

Which brought them to the present. It was nearing afternoon and there was still no sign of Kagome's return. This did not bother anyone that much. They were well aware that the girl spent more time with them than at home, and were sensitive to her needs. Except, of course, for Inuyasha. He was in a foul mood and didn't have the manners to not take it out on others. Instead he groused at any passing person no matter who they were or what reason they had for crossing his path.

Finally, Miroku and Sango went in search of their grumpy friend.

Inuyasha was sitting by the well. He painted a rather forlorn picture with both hands placed upon the rim of the well and ears drooping against his white head of hair as he rested it upon his folded hands. Sango felt a moment's pity for the hanyou and had to steel herself against it. Kagome-chan's recent months of unhappiness was Inuyasha's fault so far as she was concerned, and she would not feel sympathy for someone who would so carelessly toss aside the girl's devotion for someone like Kikyou.

"Inuyasha."

"What?" Inuyasha didn't bother to turn around. He already knew by their scents who was approaching from the village.

Miroku sighed and traded glances with Sango. They came to a silent, mutual understanding.

"Don't you think you should find out if Kagome-sama's all right?" the monk asked diplomatically.

Inuyasha's ears instantly perked up. He looked at them over his shoulder. "You won't try to stop me?"

The question was meant more for Sango than for Miroku, so she answered with a negative shake of her head. Then, as a precaution, she added, "Just don't make her upset, Inuyasha."

The hanyou gave them a quick boyish grin before he leaped over the well in a nimble acrobatic feat. The monk and demon exterminator made to leave, positive that their friends would return soon if history were anything to go by. Or they would have, if a loud, expressive curse hadn't stopped them in their tracks. Inuyasha's yell rang out from the bottom of the well.

Looking in, they found that he was pounding on the bottom of the well with his closed fist. Nothing came of his angry actions but for dust particles kicking up in the dry well to form small beige mushroom clouds.

Miroku called down, "What happened?"

Inuyasha hopped up to his feet and kicked at the dirt. He swore again before answering. "It's not working!"

Sango peered over Miroku's shoulder. "The well isn't working? How can this be? It's always worked for you before."

"I know!" Inuyasha almost howled in frustration and, Miroku realized, fear. "The only time it doesn't work is if someone seals it," he said. "But Kagome never seals the well."

He didn't say it out loud but they all knew about the time that Inuyasha had sealed the well by stuffing a tree into its depths to keep Kagome trapped in her era. The thought was written all over Inuyasha's expressive face for them to see.

Miroku said what they were all thinking, "Who else would seal the well?"

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed dangerously. Miroku and Sango stepped back just in time to avoid being barreled over by him as the hanyou rushed out of the well in a burst of power.

"Where are you going, Inuyasha?" Sango called after the rapidly disappearing figure. She and Miroku gathered up their weapons and followed.

"To find out who's responsible for this!" Inuyasha snarled back.

****

Part II: Sealed in Time

He reminded her of Shippou. That single thought was somehow stuck in her mind and refused to let go. Kagome had been thinking the same thing all night and had even gone so far as to dream about the mysterious apparition with the woodland forest eyes and thick auburn mane of hair.

In her dream she had been running blindly through unfamiliar woods. Underbrush tangled up her feet. Impeding her. Detaining her. She remembered thinking in her dream that the trees and plants had come alive, had developed a mind and will of their own, and were angry with her.

The trees, some tall and slim, others stout, and even more gnarled and twisted, were shrieking, screaming something that was unintelligible to her human ears. Something of great importance… but she could not for the life of her understand them. No matter how hard she strained her ears, she could not grasp what they so desperately wanted her to know. And because she was unable to understand them, the trees grew in their fury. Branches swept low to trip and roots rose out of the earth to scratch and make her limbs clumsy.

Kagome gasped when one branch slammed into the side of her head, and fell hard to her knees. Knowing that it was all a dream did not lessen the pain of her fall, nor did it ease the ringing in her ears from the heavy impact. Her hands closed and drew moist crumbling dirt into her fists. By will power alone Kagome shoved to her feet and moved once more to escape the malevolent forest and its animate vegetation.

However, escape was not to be found, for every which way she turned there was yet another obstacle. Whether it was brush, root or branch, _something_ stood in her way. Soon even these identifiable things changed their nature and Kagome began to see woodland eyes in the dark. Watching her, assessing her ability to fight, weighing her threat as an enemy. Kagome screamed when she felt that selfsame callused hand from the night before touch her elbow.

Her miko senses were telling her that shards were nearby again. She whipped about just in time to see laughing green eyes disappear into shadowed woods. That ghostly presence fading away once more with the shards. On and off during the course of her flight he would appear – one second to taunt her, the next to vanish into thin air.

It felt like she had been running forever when the dream changed of its own volition. One moment running, the next she was halfway into a spacious, circular, white-marble chamber that reached high into the endless night sky. Kagome stumbled to a halt, breath ragged and a stitch causing spasms of pain to lance up her side. She turned to look back to where she had come from and saw the forest. Turning back she once again was in the starry chamber of marble walls.

Suddenly a phantom hand reached out to grasp the ankle and foot still planted in the forested dream world. Kagome uttered a startled scream and tried in vain to pull her foot away. Whatever was detaining her would not let go despite her fierce struggles. Then, on her other side, from within the chamber came the creak of hinges, the sound of a heavy door opening. And the hauntingly familiar sensation of security and warmth blanketed her being. Kagome almost fainted dead away from relief.

"Sesshoumaru-san."

He walked, but it did not look like walking. Kagome watched as the youkai lord glided over flawless stone until he stood within arm's reach of her. His eyes absorbed the dim light and reflected back the richness of aged gold.

"Must you disrupt my dreams, little miko?"

Kagome didn't answer that obviously rhetorical comment, but pointed a finger at her trapped foot instead. "Help me!" she demanded.

Sesshoumaru gazed disinterestedly at the appendage in question. He looked back at her face, flushed with impatience. There was stillness in his own.

"And what am I, Sesshoumaru, supposed to do?"

Kagome released a half-screech half-groan of frustration. She covered her face and took a moment to compose herself. Apparently the months since their last encounter had been sufficient time for the youkai lord to restore his self-important attitude.

She said through gritted teeth, "I'm stuck, Sesshoumaru." Kagome paused and tapped her free foot on the marble floor to make it clear that she thought this should have been obvious to him from the beginning. "Could you _please_ help to free my foot?"

Then, abruptly, his face transformed from the haughty and bored indifference to amusement. Kagome's nostrils flared as she realized that he had been playing with her. _The nerve! Ooh, I am SO going to get him for this!_ Kagome broke out of her violent thoughts to find a smirk on Sesshoumaru's face. Her hands fisted and her glare promised retribution.

Before she erupted into her next rant, he said calmly, "Kagome, this is only a dream. Nothing can harm you in your dreams."

"The hell nothing can hurt me!" Kagome exploded. "Say that to the trees that just tried to beat me into a bloody pulp before burying me in that forest. Hah!" She huffed and crossed her arms. "And what about the fact that the forest is screaming at me like I'm its enemy or something?"

Sesshoumaru tilted his head towards the woods. A curiously intent expression making him appear to be almost asleep as his eyes were mere slits beneath half-mast eyelids.

"What are-"

"Shh." He placed his fingers over her lips in an absent fashion, effectively silencing her. "Listen. Do you hear them?"

Kagome stared at him wide-eyed. She spoke around his fingers. "Hear what?"

"The cries…"

"No." Kagome shook her head in confusion. "It sounds like screaming to me…"

His voice was hushed as he said, "The spirits are not screaming, little miko. They are crying." His attention transferred from the forest to her. "They are confused and angry. Something is happening to them. It frightens them. Makes them restless."

Kagome had a sudden recollection of the ghost that had appeared during last night's séance. Prickling chills ran crab-like up her spine. "Wh- what's happening to them?"

Worry flashed across his face before it was concealed so quickly beneath his perpetual icy mask of stillness that she almost thought that it was her imagination. But Kagome _had_ seen it. And anything that could evoke concern in the youkai lord was enough to petrify her.

"They are disappearing," he murmured absently. Obviously still listening to whatever voices only he could hear.

"Where?"

He blinked and suddenly snapped out of the partial trance that his thoughts had put him in. "They do not know. All I hear is, 'lost in time.' Does that make any sense to you?"

A spasmodic tremor made Kagome clutch her arms and rub them vigorously to restore warmth in her cold limbs. Sesshoumaru's gaze narrowed, making Kagome search the area for an enemy.

"What is it?" she asked.

He sighed. "It is time for you to awaken."

Kagome blinked. "What?" She grabbed his arm when he took a step back. "Wait! What about-"

"There is no time." He brushed his long tapered fingers over her brow, swept blue-black hair over the crest of her left ear. "Wake up," he ordered.

****

**********

"Wake up, Oneechan!" Souta gently shook his sister's shoulder.

Kagome's eyes suddenly shot open, causing Souta to leap backwards and yelp in surprise. Souta clutched a small hand to his rapidly beating heart, quite relieved that it hadn't stopped altogether from the fright that she had given him. As it were, he was breathing a little heavily.

"Sheesh! Oneechan, you almost scared me to death," he exclaimed.

Kagome tried to rub the lingering sleepiness from her eyes. "Eh? What? Oh," she finally saw how her little brother's eyes were wide and unblinking, definite signs of a recent scare. "Souta, I'm sorry. Did I scare you?"

Souta blushed and took great interest in his shoes. "Nah~ you didn't scare me."

"Hmm…" Kagome smiled, recognizing her brother's embarrassment, and ruffled his thick, dark hair affectionately.

She threw her legs over the side of the western style bed and sat up. A yawn escaped before she had time to politely cover her mouth. The dream remained vivid in her mind, not dissipating as her dreams normally would. She wondered if it was a portent of some kind, not truly believing that she had met Sesshoumaru in her dreams as they had not encountered him for the last couple of months. Not since the summer, to be precise, and now it was nearing mid-autumn.

"It's time for lunch," Souta was saying animatedly. His coffee brown eyes, a perfect match for his glossy hair, were bright with suppressed excitement. "Mama made your favorite today – Oden. She said that she even made extra for you to take back for Inuyasha-niichan."

Kagome didn't know _what_ to make of that comment – it sounded much too domestic to her ears –so she changed the subject.

"How come nobody woke me up sooner?" she asked.

"Mama said to let you rest since it's Sunday and you've been studying so hard," Souta replied. His dark eyes suddenly took on an expression well beyond his 10 years. "You should rest more, Oneechan."

For some unaccountable reason Souta's quiet, concerned suggestion had the effect of bringing tears to his sister's eyes. Kagome blinked rapidly to push back the heavy, salty droplets. She placed her hands on Souta's narrow shoulders and pulled him in close for an impulsive hug.

"I'm okay, Souta. Don't worry about me."

A tiny sniffle reached her ears as Souta wormed his arms around her and held on tight. His face pressed against the crook of her neck and shoulder. The warm wetness of his tears and the burden of guilt weighed equally heavy upon her shoulders. So many times she had neglected her family. Was the quest worth it? Was any of it worth her little brother's precious tears?

"I got straight A's last term." Souta's voice was muffled against her neck. "My teachers say that if I keep up with the good work that I'd be able to get into the top schools." Happiness and pride for his achievements warred with remorse for not being there to witness each and every one of his successes. "Last week we had sports day at school and I won first place in the 50m and 100m dash."

Kagome swallowed, knowing what was coming next and hating herself for it.

Souta whispered, "I wish you were there when they handed me the 1st place ribbons."

Kagome bit her lip hard and squeezed Souta tight. "I'm sorry," she whispered, voice thick and watery. "I'm so sorry, Souta, for not being there. I'm sure that you did wonderfully."

She gently disengaged their arms and held Souta by his shoulders once more. Looking and seeing all of the changes time had wrought in her absence. He was taller and a little leaner, the growth spurts leaving no time for baby fat to accumulate. His face looked less like their mother's and a little more like their father's each day. The masculine traits clearly delineated in his sharp cheekbones and square jaw. Kagome was overcome with emotions that she so carefully kept locked away while in the past with Inuyasha and her other friends and allies.

When she spoke her voice took on a solemnity that captured Souta's immediate attention and held it. "I'm going to promise you something, Souta, and I want you to listen carefully. No matter what happens in the past, no matter how difficult it may be to accomplish, I will _always_ be there for you."

She carefully extracted a small sliver of the Shikon Jewel from the tiny glass vial she kept looped on a leather cord around her neck. Reaching behind her pillow, Kagome pulled out a small cloth covered jewel box, the kind that young girls kept for their trinkets and keepsakes. From this Kagome withdrew a delicate white-gold filigree locket shaped in a circle and etched with the image of a crescent moon upon its surface.

Inside were two opposing pictures: one of her and one of Souta. These were taken recently because she always made sure to put new ones in on each of their birthdays; the chain and locket had been a gift from her father long ago. Using her pinky to lift his picture, Kagome placed the shard inside and replaced the tiny photograph. She silently prayed that the necklace and Souta would be protected from harm as she secured the chain around his neck.

Just as Kagome released the clasp a spark of electricity shot up her hands and around the necklace to light up the locket, startling both siblings with its brilliancy. Souta picked up the locket to find that it was warm to the touch. He smiled.

"Thank you, Oneechan," he said with all of the sincerity in his heart. "I'll never take this off," he promised.

Kagome returned his smile and then ushered him downstairs to where their mother and grandfather were waiting to begin lunch, proclaiming a need to get dressed. Alone, she wondered if he would even be able to remove the chain. Somehow she felt confident that Souta would never come to harm. She made a mental note to ask Kaede about spells of protection once she returned to Sengoku Jidai later that afternoon.

****

End Part 2

*****************************************************************************

Oops… seems like I didn't get around to Kikyou this time. Next chapter will be Kikyou, Kaede, Shippou, and more! Hope you liked how I portrayed Souta. He's just the most adorable little boy! Along with Shippou, of course. ^_^ Please review and let me know what you think.

__

Shun'u

http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=61008

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shunu


	4. 3 Stupid Doll!

Title:

PURGATORIO 

Part:

3 – Stupid Doll!

Author:

Shun'u [ff.net ID: 61008]

Series:

Inuyasha

Genre:

Supernatural/Suspense

Rating:

PG-13

Disclaimer:

Inuyasha, its characters and original storyline are © to Rumiko Takahashi, Shonen Sunday, and subsequent parties. "Purgatorio" is an original fanfiction © to Shun'u [h_shunu@hotmail.com].

**Posted:**

January 2003 

**Author's Notes and Review Responses:**

Please read stories in order written:

[1] Prelude

[2] Full Circle

[3] Purgatorio

[4] Cycles of the Moon (A/U – Optional)

All stories are posted on Fanfiction.net:

[http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=61008][1]

Shun'u 

For early updates and teasers, please join my Updates Mailing List at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shunu

In response to *oh nameless one*:

Hey, thanks for the info. I was wondering about their names. Just forgot altogether.

In response to Alyson Metallium:

Aly! Thanks. Hehe. Since you have the inside scoop, I won't linger too long in the comments. Thought you'd like that little bit of interaction! *smirk*

In response to jammincat9:

Hi there. What's your email? *confused* I can't let you know anything if I can't respond… Oh well. Thanks for reviewing. You can easily just search ff.net for more s/k fanfics. There are tons out there now.

In response to Dark Star:

Aww… I'm sorry you had to put away your party favors. It's just that Kikyou can't be killed yet. I have plans for her, you see. *maniacal laughter* *cough* Sorry about that. ^^; Hmm… regarding Souta, he wasn't crying all that much… it was Kagome. *blink* I'll re-read the chapter and see where I went wrong.

In response to Forsaken Tenshi:

Keep reading! And thanks for the review.

In response to Ceylia:

Cel, Cel, Cel, darling. Check out the last segment of this chapter. Maybe I can help jumpstart your ficcy a little? Maybe just a tad? *begs* I wanna read chap. 18! Ahem. Oh dear. How undignified of me. ^_~

In response to ChaosCat:

*grin* You're the first and only person (so far) to feel bad for Inu-chan! Don't suppose that you're good at art? Hmm? Maybe someone can do a picture of Inuyasha sitting there all pathetic looking while he pines for Kagome?

In response to Momiji:

Thanks for the review! Wow. I think you've reviewed each and every part so far. This is great! ^^

In response to MoonRyoko:

There, there. It'll be all right. Let auntie Shun'u take care of you. Trust me. *wink* No matter how the pairings end up after I'm done tortur- *cough* _developing_ these characters, you'll be happy. Promise. ^^

In response to Shadow Dragon:

Thanks for reviewing! Hope to see you next chapter. ^^

In response to jane:

Erm… eventually, yes. For now? No. Hehe. Poor Inuyasha's gonna have to deal with it. He won't _like_ it, but he'll have to deal with it.

In response to Slice:

Is this update soon enough for you? ^_^ Man, I don't think I've updated this quickly in ages… and if anyone comments on that I'm gonna sick Naraku on you. =P

In response to Talon DragonFriend:

I can't believe you've sat through all those stories… That's just about the nicest compliment anyone can give me! Thanks! And do drop a review for Jaken's poor tale. Nobody seems to like him! *sniff* I do. No matter what anyone says. Oh, and you might get a special treat out of the last part of this chapter. Hehehe!

  
Purgatory 

(as defined in Merriam-Webster)

**1: an intermediate state after death for expiatory purification; _specifically_****: a place or state of punishment wherein according to Roman Catholic doctrine the souls of those who die in God's grace may make satisfaction for past sins and so become fit for heaven.  
  
**

**2: a place or state of temporary suffering or misery.**

  


P U R G A T O R I O 

**· |· Sequel to [Full Circle][2] ****· |·**

An Inuyasha Fanfiction

By Shun'u

Part III: Stupid Doll! 

By the time she finally came downstairs everyone was gathered around the low table in the living room. Everyone being: her mother, grandfather, and Souta. Buyo the cat believed himself above scrounging for table scraps and refused to sit by during meals. Either that, or he was just too lazy to bother getting up from wherever he was cozily ensconced in the house.

Kagome hopped the last two steps on light feet. Her navy blue socks almost slipping on the wood flooring. Adjusting the bell-sleeves of her ivory turtleneck, she made her way to the place setting reserved for her on grandfather's left hand side. Oden broth was simmering in a hot pot and the rice cooker sat conveniently to her mother's right. All of the food was laid out in two deep platters, ready to be cooked and consumed.

"Sorry!" she said a little breathlessly. It had taken a while to find her favorite black wool skirt beneath piles of freshly laundered clothes. "I didn't mean to take so long."

She blinked in confusion when no one responded. Then she realized that their attention was riveted on the television. Kagome hadn't noticed the low hum of the set until then. Sometimes it was difficult to adjust to modern conveniences and electronic gadgets after spending such extended periods making do without either electricity or plumbing.

"There have been numerous mysterious sightings of ghosts all across Japan. From Hokkaido, to Honshu, to Okinawa, we report…"

The screen panned out to show a busy downtown Shibuya district. People were bustling to and fro, heedless of others and rushing to their destinations with a single-minded focus only to be found in large metropolitan areas. Nowhere was the famed decorum and politeness of the Japanese people to be found. These were business people out and about for a reason and they had no time to spare for such things as courtesies.

The camera jerked off-focus and the poor reporter was jostled into an avid bystander. Flustered, he ran a hand through mussed brown hair and continued determinedly.

"The first report came in last evening at approximately 8pm from Kyoto. An elderly ramen shop owner reported seeing ghosts from the revolution running through the streets of Kyoto. Described as sword-bearing samurai in dark clothing, he claims to have seen them-"

The reporter suddenly stopped and coughed. He tugged at his generic blue and gray striped tie with the pudgy white-skinned fingers of a man unused to manual labor. Kagome reached over to turn up the volume. On the screen, the news reporter cleared his throat one more time before continuing.

"He claims to have seen them… murdering other samurai spirits in the street.

"In addition to this report, we hear from Hiroshima that ghosts are rising from Ground Zero, where the Atomic Bomb had been dropped during World War 2.

"In Hokkaido…"

The frazzled reporter's voice drowned out as the channel's primary anchor reappeared on the screen. His usual placid professionalism had been replaced by a pasty white countenance.

"No one knows what to make of these sightings. Due to the widespread nature of the incidences, possibility of this being an elaborate media hoax has been disregarded. Religious leaders throughout Japan have begun researching the possible reasons for these events. There is speculation of mass hysteria being the root cause of the exponential growth in supposed spiritual phenomena.

"On to other matters in the news…"

Grandfather rested his elbows on the low table, assuming a contemplative pose with arthritic fingers steepled beneath his chin.

"Hmm… interesting…" he said. The serious tone in his age-roughened voice was a surefire cue that he was about to launch into one of his infamous lectures.

Kagome sighed silently to herself.

Hands slammed down onto the table, causing dishes and bowls to rock and chopsticks to slide off of their rests to clatter noisily onto the varnished wood table.

Souta jumped. He leaned back and stared at their grandfather, culprit of the minor earthquake. Their mother calmly began to scoop out bowls of rice, which Kagome helped in passing around.

Mrs. Higurashi asked practically, "Grandfather, do you suppose that we will be receiving more visitors to the shrine soon?"

Grandpa Higurashi nodded sagely. The topknot on his head so heavily gelled that it didn't budge even a millimeter. "Yes," he stroked his thin goatee absently. "People will be seeking wards of protection against these spirits."

Souta's eyes grew round. "You think the ghosts are real, Grandpa?"

"Undoubtedly, grandson!" A feverish, almost fanatical light entered their grandfather's eyes. "Spirits are as real as living breathing people. This is why we must always take care never to offend them. It is also why we pay homage to the dead by lighting incense and keeping a shrine to them in our homes."

Souta edged closer to his mother. This strategic move coincidentally set him a little farther away from his wild-eyed grandfather.

He asked, "Oneechan, do you think they're bad ghosts?"

Kagome swallowed the mouthful of rice that she had been chewing on. She didn't want to frighten Souta anymore than he already was. However, she didn't want to lie either. And the truth of the matter was that those spirits could very well be the "bad" kind.

"I don't know, Souta, but they would've mentioned it if these ghosts were hurting people, right?"

Their mother was quick to catch Kagome's hint. "Yes, of course, Kagome-chan. Now," she placed a piece of tofu into Grandpa Higurashi's dish, "let's not talk anymore about ghosts and goblins. Kagome-chan, can you pass me the soy sauce please?"

~~~*~~~

Kikyou found Kaede in her cottage alone save for the kitsune child. The little boy was curled up into a ball with his tail clutched in one hand and the other cushioning his cheek from the hardwood floor. He was as close to the hearth fire as can be without endangering any limbs to the open flame.

Kaede sat with her back to the door, a dangerous position to be in without knowing who might enter. She was hunched over a piece of cloth. In her still-steady hand was a shiny metal needle the likes of which Kikyou had never seen. Brown thread trailed over Kaede's blue clad forearm and into her lap where the brown vest pooled. By the size of the garment, Kikyou guessed that it belonged to the kitsune. A quick glance confirmed that he was indeed missing his brown vest and only had a blue shirt on.

The undead priestess paused almost hesitatingly on the threshold. Although they were sisters by blood, she was uncertain of her welcome. There were times Kaede's censure and disapproval weighed heavily in the air between them.

"Kaede."

The aged priestess finished her stitch and jabbed her needle into the hem she had been working on. Kikyou pushed back a surge of annoyance at how slow Kaede was in responding; she was accustomed to people jumping to do her bidding, conceding to her demands no matter the cost or sacrifice to themselves.

"Oneesama." Kaede acknowledged her sister's presence.

She looked Kikyou over, seeing no changes in her sister since their last meeting; Kikyou was still beautiful. She reminded Kaede of how Myouga had once described Inuyasha's elder brother: perfect and cold. But then, there was always more to a person than meets the eye. Beneath Kikyou's beautiful exterior lurked a mind of dark cunning. The reason for Kikyou's success as a priestess was her sympathetic understanding of the creatures that hunted her. To defeat the monsters she had had to become one of them. In many ways Kaede did not regret not becoming as good of a priestess as her sister.

"How are you doing?" Kaede gestured for Kikyou to take a seat on one of her quilted cushions.

Kikyou propped her bow and quiver against the wall behind her and accepted the invitation silently. She waved away a proffered cup of tea. She no longer ate or drank.

"I am well," Kikyou replied stiffly. It was strange, trading inane pleasantries as if they met on a regular basis for tea. She shifted and smoothed the red hakama over her knees. "I came to inquire about something I've recently discovered," she said.

"Oh?" Kaede waited patiently for further explanation.

Kikyou proceeded to sketch a brief explanation of her findings.

"My soul gatherers have found less and less souls in the past two days. When I went in search myself, I found this to be true. Not only human, but also beast and youkai souls are disappearing. Unless I am there when someone dies, I cannot find lingering spirits as I usually can."

Kaede sipped her hot tea, warming rheumatic hands on the brown-gray clay cup. "What brings you here," she specified, "to this village?"

"The spirits are more dense here…" Kikyou's gaze was fare away. "The closer I came to this village and the forest that neighbors it, the more spirits I encountered." Her gray eyes were almost flinty. "What is happening here to draw all of those souls, Kaede?"

Kaede placed her cup on the floor. She sighed and tucked her cold hands into her sleeves. They always seemed to be cold now: her hands. Even during the peak of summer there was a perpetual chill in her aching joints. Over sixty years of life… Kaede supposed that she was lucky to have lived so long and so well compared to others. If only she didn't feel her age every time she bent over to pick something up or rose from a sitting position.

"The increase in spiritual activity here began yesterday evening," Kaede finally said. "I had hoped," here she sighed and shook her head, "that it would end. But it did not." Kaede gazed into her teacup. "I do not know what is happening or why. Maybe you can find out, Oneesama. You have always been more sensitive than I."

Kikyou stood and reached for her weapons before asking, "Does this have anything to do with the girl?"

Kaede frowned at her sister's unwillingness to say Kagome's name. "I don't know… There could be many other reasons. This particular forest is imbued with strong magic."

"But how quiet it must have been before she came," was Kikyou's cryptic response.

Kaede could not completely deny Kikyou's observation. However, she did murmur softly, "It is no worse now than it had been during your life, Oneesama."

Kaede resumed her stitching of the seam Shippou had busted open in one of his tussles with Inuyasha. Shippou hadn't stirred so much as a hair while Kikyou had paid her visit, but now he sat up wide-awake. The kit moved next to Kaede.

"Do you think Kagome's okay, Kaede?"

"We can only hope so, Shippou."

Shippou sat in deep thought while Kaede finished the last knot. The fine thread Kagome had thoughtfully brought from her time worked marvelously. Kaede had never had such ease sewing until Kagome brought back the spools of thread, steel needles and scissors.

"Kagome-chan will be fine, Shippou," Kaede's rusty voice was reassuring. "She is blessed, that child."

Shippou nodded. He said, "I'm gonna see what Inuyasha's up to."

~~~*~~~

_Blessed as I am cursed, huh?_

Mildly disgusted by the self-pity coloring her thoughts, Kikyou's lips thinned and her stride lengthened to quicken her escape from memories of the past: of the old cottage where now she was a barely (if even) tolerated guest. So lost in her thoughts, was she, that Kikyou failed to see the streak of red until it had barreled straight into her and knocked her to the ground. She became ensnared in a net of limbs, and fought to restore bruised dignity.

"Watch where you're going!" She snapped blindly at the clumsy oaf who'd caused her fall. She dusted off her soiled clothing with angry strokes.

"Hey, bitch, why don't you watch where _you're going?" snarled an irritated voice._

Kikyou straightened in disbelief. Had she been that lost in thought that she didn't even recognize his aura? "Inuyasha?"

"Ki- Kikyou?" Inuyasha looked bewildered. Confusion made him scratch his head. "What are you doing here?"

She said coolly, "I am performing my duties as a priestess."

"Heh." Miroku and Sango had caught up to Inuyasha.

The golden rings on the houshi's staff jingled when he planted it in the ground. He leaned into it indolently, combative antagonism apparent in every line of the lean body hidden beneath layers of indigo and black. By his side was the demon exterminator with her immense weapon slung over her shoulder, ready to be released at the first sign of danger.

"What dedication," the houshi said, "Even after death you think of your duties? I'm surprised you've been able to perform them. Seeing as how you're no longer quite as pure."

Kikyou narrowed her eyes dangerously.

Sango ribbed Miroku into silence. He acceded somewhat ungraciously, but refused to relax his ready stance. Then again, neither did Sango. The only one unguarded was Inuyasha. His was an almost childish trust of the undead priestess.

"Shut up, Miroku," Inuyasha growled. He turned to Kikyou. "What are you doing here, Kikyou?" he repeated.

Kikyou broke off her glaring contest with the disrespectful monk. Her answer was clipped. "I came to find something out."

Inuyasha became alert. "Do you know something about the well?"

"She's probably the one who did it," Miroku muttered.

Sango elbowed him unhesitatingly. "Houshi-sama!" she rebuked. Some days she truly felt like she was babysitting a bunch of children.

"Ouch!" Miroku winced and rubbed his side. She _had to elbow him three times in the same spot. "Easy, Sango-sama. You wouldn't want to harm the father of your unborn children, would you?"_

His bid to win a smile failed miserably, as was apparent by Sango's flat stare. Miroku held his hands up in surrender when Sango began to tap her boomerang sharply with her fingernails. He smiled, hoping to soothe her considerable temper.

"Maa~ maa~"

Throughout all of this Kikyou zoomed in on one thing. "The well?"

Inuyasha opened his mouth. And was hastily silenced by two hands clamping over it while he was dragged unceremoniously away from Kikyou. They were well out of hearing distance when he turned on his abductors angrily.

"What the fuck! I'm trying to find some answers here!"

Sango promptly whacked him upside the head. Inuyasha's head whipped sharply to the side. He snarled in reaction and the rush of anger brought youki swimming to the surface. Then, Miroku was suddenly between the two, one arm outstretched protectively in front of the demon exterminator, the other holding his staff in front of Inuyasha. He was focused completely on the hanyou and therefore missed the rise in color that momentarily touched Sango's cheeks. Inuyasha was too angry to even notice.

Unflinching, Miroku met his friend's fury head on. "Think for a moment, Inuyasha. Why would Kikyou want to help the girl who stands in the way of everything she wants?"

"She wouldn't-" Inuyasha began to deny.

Sango cut in. "She would, and she could."

The look she leveled on Inuyasha froze and burned in turn. Inuyasha crossed his arms, staring off into the distance with his trademark stubbornness. The posture was enough to set Sango off again. She stepped around Miroku's arm and got up into the hanyou's face, uncaring of her own safety. Concern for Kagome overrode all thought of circumspection. And Miroku, wise man, did not stop her.

"Listen here, you stubborn man," Sango hissed quietly, startling Inuyasha enough with her vehemence that he listened to every word she said. "The well is sealed and we don't know if Kagome-chan is stuck in her time or not. Hell! We don't even know if she's in danger right this moment while her weapons are here and none of us can help her. To top _that off, she has all the shards of the Shikon Jewel. Now in case you've failed to notice, Inuyasha." She punctuated his name with a pause. Inuyasha winced involuntarily at her scathing tone._

"There are a lot of unsavory characters who would love to take advantage of this moment to catch her alone and unprotected. And just so that _you_ know, since you're too blinded by your never-ending infatuation to see for yourself, one of those people happens to be standing over there." Sango jerked her chin to indicate Kikyou, who remained watchful of the trio.

Sango took a deep breath. "Personally," she said, "I don't care how you deal with her, but if you so much as breathe one word that might endanger Kagome-chan." Sango's arms trembled. "So help me!"

The demon exterminator stalked away with ground eating strides without another word, leaving behind one stunned hanyou and a bemused monk in her wake. Miroku gazed after the young woman with an unreadable expression on his carefully blank face.

Inuyasha scraped at the ground with his toe. He didn't say a word.

Miroku gave him a lopsided smile, the charm that would have melted many women's hearts, old or young, was lost on Inuyasha.

"Well, I guess she said everything that needed to be said." With that Miroku hoisted his staff and left Inuyasha to talk to Kikyou alone.

~~~*~~~

"Your friends disapprove of me," Kikyou observed.

She hadn't been able to hear the intense conversation, but none of them ever made a secret of how they felt – especially not the monk. Kikyou quickly stifled her irritation. It mattered little what any of them thought. To her, they were ants to be trod upon and insignificant.

The priestess had been alone for so much of both her life and afterlife that she was unable to understand the bonds of friendship and companionship that kept Inuyasha's group together. She thought that they followed Inuyasha because individually they were unable to survive. Never had she considered that they _were_ capable, but chose to be with their friends instead of living in solitude.

Inuyasha's jaw worked silently for a moment. He chose his words with uncharacteristic care, Sango's diatribe still echoing in his sensitive ears. He had no doubt that the demon exterminator would follow through with her promise. Sango's will and determination was second to none. Naraku could testify to that; she had been hunting him relentlessly since her family's death and Kohaku's enslavement. For that he could respect her… and her wishes.

"Feh." Inuyasha tried to infuse some cockiness into his voice. "Ignore them."

"Oh?" Kikyou asked bluntly, "What did you mean by 'the well'?"

Inuyasha wouldn't meet her perceptive gaze. "Nothing important." He asked, "What're you looking for?"

Kikyou let the subject drop only because she had more pressing matters to attend to than playing hide-and-seek-answers with her former love. She gave him a quick summary of what had been happening, including the fact that Naraku appeared to be missing. When she finished Inuyasha had a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Well? Do you know anything?" she asked.

Inuyasha shook his head. "No. But I'll find you if I learn anything."

Kikyou settled for his answer and rose to depart.

"Kikyou."

She paused and looked back.

"Do you ever… that is," Inuyasha drew a deep, fortifying breath, "Do you ever miss what we had?"

"What we had?" she repeated tonelessly. Gray eyes remained devoid of feeling. "No. I do not."

Inuyasha walked slowly back to the village. Along the way he rubbed the spot directly over his sternum. If he let his mind drift he could almost feel the wooden shaft that had been embedded in his heart for fifty years. It had never truly disappeared… even after the spell had been broken…

~~~*~~~

Beyond the trees Kikyou rested. Amazingly, the perimeter of the forest almost acted as an invisible barrier. Inside there were hordes of souls to be reaped. Outside there were none. Kikyou sat upon a log and set her bow aside, not bothering to remove the quiver strapped diagonally across her back.

She would have to return to Inuyasha's forest often if things did not change soon. Otherwise her energy would run too low to perform even the simplest of ritual magic.

"What we had…" she murmured softly.

"No… Inuyasha, I do not miss what we had." She pressed a hand over where her heart should have been. Her hand squeezed. "I miss what we could have been."

~~~*~~~

"Jaken."

"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken was about to bow low, when he noticed the doll still clutched in his green-skinned hands. "Awk!" he squawked.

Sesshoumaru arched a moon-white brow but withheld comment about his faithful retainer's present dilemma. Either Jaken would dispose of the incriminating evidence of… playtime… or he would figure out a way to properly genuflect without dropping the ragged looking thing. The youkai lord suspected that Jaken would rather not drop the toy, as it was one of Rin's favorites; Kagome had given it to her last summer.

Sesshoumaru fazed Jaken out as his thoughts turned to the young woman from last night's dream. He had been actively _not thinking of her the past few months with relative success. For that dream to have occurred… it was abnormal._

Never in the past had they intruded into each other's dreams without being in physical contact. Why now? And how? He knew that she came from the future, and knew by what means she traveled back and forth to this time. Just recently Jaken had informed him that Inuyasha's group was in the village by the well. Judging by the pattern of their activities, this meant that Kagome was back at home with her family.

The question demanded an explanation. How had they been able to communicate through time? 

More importantly… what was happening to the spirits for them to be in such turmoil, for he had no doubts that the dream had been a message.

Sesshoumaru's attention was drawn to Jaken, who had stilled to an attentive quiescence. The retainer had finally solved his problem by stuffing the doll, head first, into the outermost fold of his kimono. Sesshoumaru took one look at the tiny plastic legs protruding from Jaken's robes and strode out of the room.

Jaken scrambled after his master, one hand clutching the doll's legs to his chest to keep them from knocking against him, and the other carrying his two-headed staff.

"Sesshoumaru-sama?" Jaken was confused by his master's sudden eagerness to leave him. "Did you need this Jaken to do something for you?"

Jaken nearly tripped over the front hem of his kimono. He almost had to run to keep up with Sesshoumaru's longer tread.

"Awk!"

The toad-like youkai stuffed the problem-causing doll deeper into his grayish-green garments. He scowled.

"Stupid doll! Stay where you are!" he ordered. Irritation lacing his quivery voice, he shook an admonishing finger at the legs sticking up out of his kimono as he spoke. Of course Sesshoumaru chose that moment, just when Jaken wasn't looking up, to stop.

The little retainer crashed into his master's calves with an, "oomph," and toppled backwards without further ado. The doll flew out of Jaken's kimono to lie face up next to his head; one perfect, plastic leg sticking straight up while the other, equally perfect and plastic leg, was hooked in his collar. On the bright side, Jaken managed to keep hold of the two-headed staff in his left hand. On the not so bright side, the old man's head lay next to the doll's blonde head and looked ready to release a small flame to destroy its newest perceived enemy.

The youkai lord turned just enough to take all of this in. Wordlessly, Sesshoumaru grabbed Jaken by the collar to stand his servant up. He left Jaken to collect himself. Halfway down the corridor Sesshoumaru stopped.

In a tightly controlled voice, he said, "Prepare to leave in one hour."

Jaken immediately replied, "Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama!"

As Sesshoumaru rounded the corner, the youkai lord distinctly heard another muttered, "Stupid doll!"

~~~*~~~

Gah~! I can't believe I neglected a glossary of terms 'til now. Why didn't one of you tell me? *wails* *sniff* Well, better late than never, I guess. Here's a listing of the Japanese terms I've used (somewhat liberally) throughout the fic so far.

**Youkai:** demon – meaning is more complex than the western word implies… youkai are mythical and a strong part of Japanese folklore. They're like a cross between the creatures found in Greek Mythology and Fairy Tales. Hmm… what I'm trying to say is that Oni and Kitsune are well known mythical creatures.

**Kitsune:** fox spirit/demon – fabled to originally have been foxes, these creatures gained the ability to assume other forms and would often act as humans. Very playful and beautiful.

**Hanyou:** half-demon – the other half is left up to the other parent. =P

**Houshi:** wandering monk

**Youki:** demonic energy – power that youkai have.

**Hakama:** pleated pants – you see them plenty in anime. It's the lower part of Kikyou's miko outfit… which takes us to the next term! ^_^

**Miko:** priestess – hmm… based on the context of what I've read, I'm assuming that these are virginal priestesses. They have greater spiritual power than the average human and serve at shrines. Often protecting shrines and holy relics.

**Kimono:** the traditional garb of Japanese people. Many types. And many layers! Good lord. During the Heian era the women wore 12-layer kimonos. Can you believe how heavy that would have been? Not to mention hot…

**Important Side Note:** Kimonos are worn with the right side folded in first (closest to the skin) and the _left on top_. Most westerners wear robes left flap underneath right because it's the natural motion for right-handed people to keep their more dexterous hand free. However, don't wear a kimono this way… just a word of warning for you. And a note for future reference *cough* (hint-hint). Japanese dress their dead with the left fold beneath the right fold… in other words, only dead people would "wear" a kimono in this fashion.

~~~*~~~

Hehe! Hope you enjoyed the last part! I have to admit… this chapter is really rough… I just typed it up and uploaded it. Let me know what you think. Until next time! ^_^

Shun'u

[http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=61008][1]

[http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shunu][3]

   [1]: http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=61008
   [2]: http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=303554
   [3]: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shunu



	5. Once a Student, Always a Student

**Title:** Purgatorio

**Part:** 4 – Once a Student, Always a Student

**Author: **Shun'u

**Series:** Inuyasha: Sengoku O-Togi Zoushi

**Genre:** Supernatural/Suspense

**Rating:** PG-13

**Disclaimer:** Standard disclaimers apply. Inuyasha, its characters, and original story, are the creation of Rumiko Takahashi; its products are © to Shonen Sunday, Avex Mode, Viz Communications, Bandai and all subsequent parties. "Purgatorio", an original fanfiction, and original characters Yuurei/Inari, Kyosuke, Naomi, Ayako, and Yuko are © Shun'u Hanashiro.

**Posted:** May 11, 2004…

* * *

-----------------------------

**P U R G A T O R I O**

-----------------------------

**▪ ▪ Sequel to Full Circle ▪ ▪**

**By: Shun'u**

**Part IV: Once a Student, Always a Student 

* * *

**

_It didn't work… the well isn't working!_

Kagome sat. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Kagome was aware that she was in shock. However, the part of her brain that recognized and diagnosed this condition was unable to mobilize any other part of her numb body into action.

So she sat. There, at the bottom of the dry Bone-Eater's Well on her family's ancestral land, she sat on tan dust and sharp shale until little by little her limbs began to move all on their own. For all the notice she gave, Kagome might as well have been a wooden puppet animated by puppeteer's strings.

"I can't believe this is happening," she mumbled.

With deftness born from habit, both hands grasped the sturdy rope that led out of the well. Kagome scaled up the side of the well until darkness receded and she could see glaring afternoon light spike through the spaces between the wooden slats of thin, non-insulated walls. Kagome squinted against it as she swung over the rim to touch solid ground. A strong hand steadied her.

"Thanks," Kagome said automatically.

Her voice trailed off along with her gratitude once she processed the image of translucent fingers wrapped around her forearm. She stared at the hand that so thoughtfully assisted her to stand. The semi-transparent digits were long and masculine, but it was the foremost aspect that made horror zing through her bloodstream. Blinking didn't change anything for the hand was still there when she opened her eyes. She could see raised goose bumps through it.

Whatever composure held her up to this point was lost and Kagome screamed. The blood curdling sound bounced from wall to wall inside the small building and caused the ghostly hand to hastily fall away.

"Please," a cultured tenor voice entreated, "do not be alarmed, miss."

Her ghost was a gentleman.

_Don't be alarmed, he says! Hah!_

Kagome edged away from the tall apparition. He was too close. Another centimeter and he would be invading her personal space, which was _much_ too close for comfort. Her slate-blue eyes were glued to him and watched for any sign of impending violence. Ghost or no ghost, his hand had felt very solid and very real not a minute ago. And right now she could see that his curious gaze was not a pure forest green.

Kagome's shoulder blades itched and her neck was stiff with a funny, tight feeling. This close, she could see that the orbs were not simply green as she had assumed on the night of the séance, or even during her haunted dream; her ghost's irises were flecked with chips of gold that made dark irises light, a welcoming blend rather than an imposing one.

"Fascinating." He bent his tall frame to peer into the well's depths. Dark, red hair fell over his shoulder. "So you come from the future, miss? I wondered about the unusual garb."

The light chuckle accompanying this observation was enough to nullify much of her apprehension. Kagome's muscles relaxed.

"Even where I come from, women do not dare to reveal so much skin."

A discreet glance over his shoulder, from the corner of his slanted eye, at the bare legs beneath her short skirt was enough to show his appreciation. Her ghostly visitor somehow managed to pull off this feat without being insulting. Unaware of her natural reaction, Kagome relaxed even further.

Her ghost was saying, "And we are accounted as the most daring of all youkai races."

"Umm…" Kagome ventured, "Excuse me, but… who are you?"

He straightened and faced her fully. Kagome backed up an involuntary step, but she didn't expect what he did next. The kitsune bowed… he actually bowed a full, respectful forty-five degrees from his waist. When he rose from the formal greeting his hands clasped hers. Kagome was rendered momentarily immobile by the piercing woodland gaze underscored by a quick teasing grin.

"A young lady once called me 'Yuurei'."

Kagome's face burned. "I thought you were a ghost!"

"Ah, but I am! These shards are very useful," a negligent hand indicated his bejeweled earlobes. Another grin, accompanied by twinkling orbs, was twice as potent as the first. Kagome squirmed in place. "They allow me to take a more solid form with minimal effort," he explained congenially. "As for my name…"

He stopped and sniffed the air with a slightly upturned nose. The open, friendly face was briefly overshadowed by a feral expression but it disappeared so quickly that Kagome questioned her own eyes. Then she sensed it too. The newest arrival to her family home was a youkai. To be precise, a youkai lord. A very suspicious youkai lord with a temper equal to Inuyasha's nearly legendary one in every way… only his was a cold burning fury.

Acting purely on instinct, Kagome threw herself in front of the ghostly kitsune. She didn't know if he could get hurt or not, but she wasn't about to take any chances.

The point of Toukijin just barely missed the tip of her nose. Or did controlled hands stop the straight sword before stabbing through her to reach the heart of its intended victim?

"Miss!"

"Sesshoumaru!"

The youkai lord's empty stare was icy enough to have frozen the seven circles of hell.

"You…"

Sesshoumaru could have been speaking of the weather for all the intonation he gave the softly spoken word. Kagome swallowed the lump lodged in her throat. Luckily, the ghost at her back was not fazed. His voice, as a matter of fact, was downright cheerful and carefree. Admirable if not for one minor detail: Sesshoumaru had just raised Toukijin to a point above Kagome's head. Although she could not see, Kagome could hazard a guess that the sword-point was presently lodged at the junction of the kitsune's collarbones, in the hollow of his throat.

Over Kagome's head, 'Yuurei' smirked knowingly. He _knew_ this youkai…

"Well, well." His laugh was light. An odd and unexpected affection laced the soothing sound. "If it isn't the little prince all grown up."

Sesshoumaru's grip involuntarily tightened around his sword handle. Toukijin pierced ghostly flesh and a drop of blood swelled from punctured skin. The sword was lifted just enough to hover once again at the ready. The kitsune raised his hand and brushed unhurried fingers across his throat. He came away with blood, rich and red. The feral look returned to his fine-boned countenance, amplified by the curl of his lip as he snarled silently from where Kagome could not witness the startling transformation from man to beast.

However, Kagome trembled when the youki surged around her from in front and from behind. Lids dropped to partially conceal her eyes as she prayed to whatever gods were watching that the Higurashi Shrine would not be decimated in a battle of wills between youkai.

"Now, really, little prince, is that any way to greet your elder? At sword point?" Green-gold and amber clashed. Neither of them lost focus of their prey. "And in front of a lady, no less. For shame! Inutaisho's son should show better breeding."

There was a warm undercurrent of warning beneath the pleasant inanities that the kitsune uttered. Kagome noticed and visibly stiffened. This 'Yuurei' was proving to be more than a wandering spirit if he knew Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru's father by name. She had never heard anyone threaten Sesshoumaru before… and to do so in such a calculated manner… as if he knew exactly which buttons to push.

"Dear friend." Not surprisingly, it was the kitsune who made the first peace-making gesture. "I am not here to harm the little miko."

Kagome waited for Sesshoumaru's response with a considerable amount of trepidation.

"You talk too much," the youkai lord said flatly as he abruptly removed Toukijin from its unwavering position and re-sheathed it with a clank of metal against metal. "As always." Sesshoumaru's right hand was unerring and the sword was safely tucked away without a single snag on pearl-white silk.

"And you're still the arrogant pup you always were." The smirk accompanying this observation was overlaid with a lethal charisma Kagome was coming to identify as an integral part of the kitsune's personality. "The years haven't changed you very much, Western Prince."

Sesshoumaru growled a warning. "Sensei…"

Eyes wide, Kagome parroted, "Sensei?"

The youkai lord only gave a curt nod, not once taking his eyes away from the kitsune spirit. 'Yuurei' proved to be more forthcoming with details.

"It's good to see that you remember me." He turned to Kagome who had stepped away from them. It had become glaringly clear to her that standing between the two males was not healthy while they traded unveiled verbal jabs.

"Once upon a time I was this young prince's teacher – although you wouldn't know it from how he turned out… 'Tis such a shame that my protégé should wind up to be such an anal-retentive prick." He gave a forlorn sigh and successfully ignored Sesshoumaru's twitching eyebrow and clenching jaw. Kagome wondered if Sesshoumaru's teeth would shatter from the force his jaw muscles were putting on them. The kitsune continued regardless of the youkai lord's ire.

"I tried so hard to break him out of his perfectionism. Unfortunately the boy inherited stubbornness from both sides of the family," he said forlornly.

It was at this point that Sesshoumaru finally grabbed Kagome's hand in an iron grip. She yelped and tugged but neither dissuaded the youkai lord from literally dragging her out of the well shrine. Digging her feet in only managed to kick up dust.

"Wa- wait, Sesshoumaru! I want to hear-"

"Ignore him."

"But–"

Out of the corner of her eye, Kagome saw the dual crimson stripes of Sesshoumaru's wrist flash from within his voluminous kimono sleeve. Out of instinct she tried to sidestep him, but his hand dropped hers and came to rest at her back before she could blink, propelling her forward with a slight nudge. Kagome had to double her steps to keep up with the momentum of his push.

"I said, ignore him, Kagome," he snarled and his claws pinched the skin of her lower back. Kagome winced and decided that it would be wise to follow his orders while he was in such a foul mood.

Behind them, the kitsune followed in morbid fascination. He had never seen Sesshoumaru interact with a female in such a way before. Quite the gentleman considering the fact that the little prince normally ignored the existence of all things inferior to him. That Sesshoumaru had even deigned to learn the girl's name was a wonder in and of itself.

"Ouch!" Kagome jerked away from the youkai lord's careless claws.

Sesshoumaru glanced down at her back to see that he had inadvertently pierced the ivory material of her clothing to graze skin with his claws. He expelled a deep, silent breath. Never slowing his quick pace, Sesshoumaru retracted his claws enough to allow the pads of his fingers to touch upon the little miko's back.

"Sesshoumaru?"

"What?" He glanced down briefly.

"I… umm… never mind."

Sesshoumaru's unblinking stare unnerved Kagome. It was like he was dissecting her mentally. She began to wring her hands and chew on the inside of her lower lip. She glanced over her shoulder at the kitsune trailing silently after them. His slanted woodland eyes were trained somewhere in the distance, seemingly lost in profound contemplation as sunlight reflected off of gold flecked green. She could almost see through him completely to the well shrine they had just departed. The questions returned to her.

Kagome leaned in closer to whisper, "Who is he, Sesshoumaru-san?"

The demon lord was silent until they reached the front steps of her neatly tended family home. There, he paused.

"He was my teacher."

Kagome blinked and tilted her head in curiosity. "Was?" she echoed, catching Sesshoumaru's slight emphasis the past tense.

Unwillingly, with a great sense that she would be seeing something that she did not want to witness or understand, Kagome's gaze was drawn downward to the ground, to where earth met the feet. Or what should have been feet… for there was nothing connecting the kitsune to the solid earth beneath them but empty hazy space before the faint outline of legs led upwards into the kitsune's body.

Kagome recalled one of her grandfather's teachings that she had brushed off so facilely in the past.

_"Granddaughter, remember. Once you have become a full miko many will be drawn to you and the powers that you control. Humans will seek reassurance and security from your wisdom. However, there are others who will look human but who will seek your pure spirit for other reasons. Beware of the ones that are no longer bound to the earth. They are the ones that have already passed on. If Enma-Daiou has not chosen to return them to this realm, there may be a reason why."_

Piecing together all of the fragments of the last couple of days, Kagome felt a faint tremble begin in her hands. She wrapped them around her arms and turned to face the kitsune who looked so much like how Shippou would look many years from now.

"He died almost two years ago," Sesshoumaru expounded. "He had been attacked by a pair of youkai brothers."

The kitsune heard Sesshoumaru's quietly spoken words. The shadow of a memory was quickly buried as he came level with them. He grimaced melodramatically, "Must we rehash old history, little prince?"

Sesshoumaru narrowed his amber eyes. Voice cold, he said, "Must you show such blatant disrespect for my station?"

Kagome wisely took a step away from the hair-raising youki. The palm of her left hand felt bare without a bow while her right hand almost itched to reach for an arrow.

"Ah…," the kitsune's deep and formal bow somehow translated into a mockery, "please let this humble one not step upon such privileged toes." The kitsune straightened slowly and looked directly into the youkai lord's eyes, the glint of challenge bright and unwavering. "However… once you have been my student, you will always be my student, no matter how high of a pedestal the rest of the world sets you upon."

****

****

**

* * *

Terms:

**

Youkai = demon

Youki = demonic energy

Kitsune = fox spirit/demon (a type of youkai)

Miko = priestess


	6. On Hallowed Ground

Posted July 8, 2007  
AN: …I'm alive? Hehe…

•• Purgatorio ••

By: Shun'u Hanashiro

Chapter 6: On Hallowed Ground

* * *

The serpentine path of the garden was lined with well-worn cobblestones. Pony-tail bobbing with her movement, Rin loped along the path as she searched over and under each of the seven stone statues of the deities that guarded the inner garden. She had already scoured the estate for her guardian earlier and discovered that he had stepped out of his estate. Inquiring in the kitchen, the housekeeper and maids informed her that Sesshoumaru-sama had left in the wee hours of the morning before sunlight had even begun to glimmer in the horizon. A little prodding had revealed that Jaken was not with him and was holed away somewhere on the grounds. 

"Jaken-sama," Rin yelled for what seemed like the hundredth time.

The little green retainer was nowhere to be found. Last night Jaken-sama had been absentminded and gruffer than was his wont, causing a niggling anxiety to disturb the otherwise imperturbable girl. Rin frowned and stopped next to a stone bench.

Left and right she looked. Nothing was out of place. In fact, everything was peculiarly normal: peculiarly quiet. Normally, when Sesshoumaru-sama left on one of his travels or to patrol his lands there was an understanding that everyone in the castle could relax. Rin wasn't oblivious to the change. She was a child still and people tended to forget her existence other than to provide her meals or ensure that she was bathed. They often forgot that she had eyes and ears just like anyone else. And she was an exceptionally observant child. What her senses were telling her now was that something was not normal in the air. There was too much stillness, too much silence, as though the air itself had stopped circulating.

Rin resumed her search a bit faster. Panic was not there yet, but it was slowly building a bubble within her chest and she was suddenly afraid. She had not been alone in a very long time.

"Jaken-sama!"

A thump sounded. Rin skidded to a halt and her eyes widened. Carefully stepping over the cobblestones and squeezing through the bushes, she peered around a flowering bush of deep pink azaleas. Rin gave a small gasp of joy and clapped her hands.

"Jaken-sama, I've found you."

Jaken moaned. He was face down next to a hidden stone stool that was nestled beneath one of the willow trees. The kappa groaned as he pushed off onto hands and knees. His staff of two heads was propped up against the willow tree, the lady facing Rin.

"Ugh," Jaken grunted when his left arm gave out and he fell on his face.

Rin ran up to him then and helped to prop him up into a sitting position. "Jaken-sama? Are you all right? What happened?"

"Rin?" Jaken croaked through a parched throat. His beady yellowed eyes blinked slowly. He still felt disoriented but at least he was talking.

"Jaken-sama, where is Sesshoumaru-sama?" Rin asked bluntly.

She did not normally worry over her guardian as he was fully capable of taking care of himself, but that earlier panic in the back of her mind would not let up until she received a proper response. Jaken rubbed at his aching head. He peered at Rin from bleary eyes, coughing a couple of times before he could speak.

"Lord Sesshoumaru went to Inuyasha's Forest," Jaken finally said.

Rin released a breath she did not know that she had been holding. That was all? If Sesshoumaru-sama was just going to Inuyasha's Forest then there was nothing to worry about. He often went there to check up on his brother and Kagome Oneesama. Rin felt the panic finally melt away. Sesshoumaru-sama would be back after he made sure that Inuyasha and Kagome Oneesama were all right.

"Ne," Rin nudged the snoring kappa awake, "why didn't you go with him, Jaken-sama?"

Jaken jerked awake and grunted as he shook the cobwebs from his head. "I was going to…"

Rin blinked and waited. She knew from long experience that there was more to the story coming. And indeed the kappa began to sweat under her steady gaze. Jaken stabbed his toe into the ground and hunched his shoulders. Rin tilted her head to the side. The end of her pony-tail brushed her shoulder.

"Jaken-sama?"

Jaken grunted.

"…"

He huffed and hopped up onto his feet. Rin followed him as he waddled through the brush onto the paved walkway, mumbling along the way about his aching bones. As they neared the steps that would lead them back into Inuyama Castle, Rin heard Jaken grouse about bad-tempered dog demons and their inability to make up their minds. Rin blinked and tried to interpret the rest but Jaken's grumbles became even more indecipherable after that point.

* * *

"_Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken scrambled to catch up with his lord._

"_Silence, Jaken."_

_Jaken tripped over a thick tree root overlaid with moss. He cursed and met up with his lord next to the Goshinboku. The ancient tree was easily the largest and grandest of all living things in Inuyasha's Forest. Its trunk was nearly the span of a small outbuilding. Lord Sesshoumaru was silent and still. Jaken could tell that he was listening for something as he had a tendency to tilt his head to the side when he was in deep concentration. It was a habit adopted as a child from his lady mother; one that he had never outgrown when he reached adulthood._

_Jaken took a moment to catch his breath while Lord Sesshoumaru observed his surroundings. They had trekked the distance from the heart of the Western Lands to Inuyasha's Forest in half of the time it normally took them. Lord Sesshoumaru had seemed in a great rush, never stopping to give his retainer the frequent breaks that he normally did. Instead he had set a fast pace that would have left Jaken in the dust if he had not used his cloud of youki to expedite their travel._

_Finally, Sesshoumaru spoke, "Jaken, you will return to the castle."_

"_Sesshoumaru-sama?" Jaken exclaimed before he could stop himself. When the taiyoukai turned to look narrow-eyed at him, Jaken quailed. "I mean, yes, Sesshoumaru-sama. Right away, Sesshoumaru-sama."_

_Sesshoumaru stared at him a bit longer, making the kappa feel about as large and insignificant as a fly with those aged gold eyes penetrating through him. Jaken dropped to the ground and started yammering in fright. He hadn't seen that feral expression directed at him in a long time, and although he somehow knew instinctively that his lord was not focused on him, and was somehow looking through and past him to something that only he could see, Jaken feared for his life._

"_You will watch over Rin," Sesshoumaru said. His voice was soft and distant. "I will be away indefinitely."_

"_Yes, my lord." Jaken trembled when he felt the taiyoukai's youki gather. And suddenly he was airborne and on his way back to the land of the west, back to the ancient temples and gilded castles nestled in rolling hills of green. He lost consciousness when Lord Sesshoumaru's minor castle, Inuyama-jo, came into sight._

_Sesshoumaru did not wait for Jaken to disappear from eyesight before he strode over to the dry well sitting just outside the line of trees. The surging energy that had lapped against his senses upon nearing Inuyasha's Forest was strongest near the well. A well that he knew led to Kagome's time and home. Sesshoumaru frowned. His keen nose was able to detect that Inuyasha had been here recently as well as the monk and taijiya. The traces of their energies left behind indicated that Inuyasha had entered the well. Sesshoumaru's jaw tightened involuntarily._

_Coming to the lip of the well he gazed down into its depths. Allowing his awareness to expand, he could see the energy flow from the forest into the well like a waterfall of spiritual energy. It was as if the forest was a funnel and the well the receptacle for the spirits. The crying that he had heard in his shared dream peaked here at the well, and if he focused he could see the individual spirits like strands of string roped together. The rope was thick and white, and jammed the old well to capacity. Tenseiga pulsed and quivered in its scabbard next to the dormant Toukijin._

_Placing a hand on the hilt of his legacy, Sesshoumaru placed the other on the lip of the well. Energy sizzled and sparked where his palm met weatherworn chipped wood. Old magic wrapped around his fingers and slithered up his hand to run parallel along the crimson markings at his wrist. Sesshoumaru felt the force of the spirits pushing at his back and yet at the same time the well repulsed him away. He hissed in unvoiced fury, disliking that anything would dare to coerce or force him in any direction that he did not desire._

_Sesshoumaru gripped Tenseiga harder, feeling the scabbard creak under his fingers. The sword flared in that moment and a blue iridescent light could be seen from the edges of the scabbard where the metal was encased. Sesshoumaru blinked. In that brief moment of clarity he had seen within the funnel of spirits a slip of time. The well was full to overflowing with spirits being vacuumed into that darkness and there was no room in it for a living being to traverse. Yet Tenseiga had shown him otherwise._

* * *

And now he sat in Kagome's home. A myriad of scents assaulted the demon lord and he had to fight to retain his composure. Across from him the ghostly kitsune was smirking and the shikon shards in his earlobes seemed to mock his discomfort with their twinkling light. Sesshoumaru clenched his jaw and looked elsewhere before the urge to shred the kitsune to pieces overtook him. He could hear Kagome bustling about in the kitchen. The clang of pots and the susurration of softly running water preceded an odd ticking noise and then a pop. He could smell burning and could only presume that she was making tea as she had suggested before leaving him with only the kitsune for company.

"So," the ghost began.

"This Sesshoumaru does not wish to converse with you."

The kitsune rolled his eyes, somehow conveying annoyance and resignation all in one motion. "You never change, little prince."

"Lord Sesshoumaru to you," he rebuked.

"Need I remind you that I fully remember your first steps as a toddler?" the kitsune's eyes brightened with malicious humor, "Or that once upon a time you used to wake up crying because you missed your daddy?"

Sesshoumaru slammed a hand down onto the low table before him and rose to one knee. He had every intention of reaching through and ripping the spine right out of his former teacher's body via his throat when the sound of muffled laughter reached Sesshoumaru's ears. Head swiveling around, he discovered Kagome, shaking and trying not to rattle the tea tray in her hands. Her blue eyes were watering and she was biting her bottom lip in a futile attempt to reign in her laughter. It was apparent that she had heard the entirety of their exchange.

Had it been anyone else, they would have blushed or become embarrassed or tried to stutter out some kind of explanation to recover their dignity. However, this was Sesshoumaru and he was above such things. Instead he gave in to his baser urges and reached across to swipe at the smug kitsune that was the cause of his current predicament.

Kagome yelped in surprise and nearly dropped her tray of green tea and teacakes when instead of making contact Sesshoumaru flew through the ghost and landed across the table.

"Sesshoumaru-san, are you all right?" She carefully set her tray on the table and hurried across to where he had landed.

The kitsune glided up behind her to peek over her shoulder at the fallen demon lord. Sesshoumaru hadn't taken much of a fall as he had caught himself mid-propulsion to pivot on his feet, but that did not mean he was happy about not being able to physically harm the fox demon. He glared at the smirking kitsune all the while that Kagome inspected him for injury.

She finally sighed after it became obvious he suffered no harm besides his wounded dignity. Returning to the teapot, Kagome knelt and poured out three cups of tea. Although the ghost could not consume any it had seemed rude to not offer some to her guest.

"Sesshoumaru-san, Yuurei-san, please have a seat."

The kitsune calmly lowered and crossed his legs in front of him. He curiously sniffed at the tea cup set before him and his hands wrapped around the blue glazed cup. There was a soft white glow about his hands where they hovered just above the ceramic.

"Ah, how long it has been since I have felt this warmth," he sighed wistfully. His slightly upturned nose twitched as he sniffed at the aroma. "I can smell the heavenly scent. Thank you, little miko."

She bowed slightly. "I am Kagome; please call me by my name." Across from her, Sesshoumaru frowned at her friendly attitude towards the ghost. He would have to speak with her later about that.

"And my name is Inari," the kitsune dipped his head. His name was familiar to Kagome but she could not recall exactly in what context she had heard it before. Shoving the random curiosity to the back of her mind, she took a sip of her tea.

Sesshoumaru shifted impatiently. "Why are you here?"

Inari blinked as though he had forgotten the demon lord's presence. "As to that, I was hoping that the little miko could enlighten me."

Both pair of eyes trained on her. Kagome shrank a little under the intense scrutiny.

"Ah, um," she rotated the cup in her hands twice before looking up. "I have no idea." The slight questioning lilt to her answer made both males blink. Kagome sighed.

"What I mean is that I don't know any more than you do as to how you arrived here, Inari-sama" she said. A thought occurred to her. She frowned. "And how did you get here, Sesshoumaru-san?"

"I came through the well," he stated as though it was the simplest thing in the world to do.

"But how?" Kagome fisted her hand beneath her chin and rested her elbow on the table. "I tried to go through it earlier and it would not let me."

When Sesshoumaru did not answer immediately, Inari glanced at him. There was an almost imperceptible discomfort in his mannerism, one that Inari was all too familiar with from days long gone. As a child Sesshoumaru would only be reticent for one of two reasons. Either he had done something that he was not supposed to do, or he had done something that he did not fully comprehend. The kitsune was willing to bet this was the latter as the young lord very obviously came to this place and time to meet with the miko.

"You do not know, do you," Inari challenged.

A muscle in Sesshoumaru's jaw jumped. His eyebrow shot upwards as he looked down his nose at the kitsune. "This Sesshoumaru knows not what you infer."

"Hmph," Inari snorted. How typical. "Of course you do, little prince. You came through the well – which by the by I would like to know a little more about at a later time – but you do not know how you got here."

"That is neither here nor there," Sesshoumaru said. "And I did not come here to converse with you."

"No," Inari retorted, "You came here to visit your girlfriend."

Kagome promptly choked on her tea. Coughing and gasping for her breath, she managed to get out, "I'm not his girlfriend."

* * *

"I can't believe you did that," Kagome stomped her way upstairs.

"And I cannot believe that you offered to let that cretin stay here," Sesshoumaru replied venomously. "What idiocy has overtaken you now?"

Kagome stopped and pivoted on the balls of her feet. She glared up at the demon lord. It was almost pitiful how she still had to crane her neck despite the fact that she was one step above the one he was standing on. Without thinking about it her finger came up and poked him in the chest.

"He isn't staying here." She poked him again for good measure. "He's just staying on the shrine grounds until we figure this thing out."

Sesshoumaru's amber eyes narrowed to slits. "Do you normally offer sanctuary to random spirits or are you doing this just to irritate me? Because I fail to see why his homelessness is our problem."

Kagome tugged at her hair in frustration. "Listen, Sesshoumaru, I know that you don't care for your sensei-"

"Former sensei," he interrupted. "A very dead sensei. One which you offered to allow free reign in your home. Perhaps I was mistaken in thinking that you were brighter than Inuyasha. What is it with you two and dead people?"

Kagome gasped in outrage.

The fine hairs on the back of Sesshoumaru's neck stood on end as he belatedly realized he stood on hallowed grounds and that he was currently insulting a time-traveling miko of unknown powers. Being the demon that he was, Sesshoumaru refused to back down or apologize for his slanderous comments. He held his ground as the air around Kagome electrified and caused the long strands of their hair to levitate. Sesshoumaru felt a prickling heat form along his skin and his youki surged in response to the holy power. The shrine trembled beneath their feet as energy fluxed between them and a rumbling could be heard for miles away.

Outside, lounging in the God Tree without a care in the world, with one leg dangling beneath him and the other stretched out on the branch he had chosen for the night, the kitsune rolled his eyes heavenward.

"He's done it now. Maybe I should have concentrated more of his studies on politics and diplomacy than swordplay."

* * *

Notes: 

Inuyama-jo (Inuyama Castle)– literally translated to "Dog Mountain" Castle

hmm… something that I've added to give a little reality to my fic.  Some history behind Inuyama Castle: Constructed in 1537, Inuyama Castle's donjon is considered Japan's oldest. The castle has never been destroyed – unlike other castles that have been rebuilt over the years. The castle stands on top of a small hill next to the Kiso River, and offers great views of the surrounding region from its top floor. From 1617 until the end of the feudal age, Inuyama Castle served as the seat of the local Naruse lords. After a 24 year long interruption in the beginning of the Meiji Era, it is now again the property of the Naruse family and Japan's only privately owned castle. It is actually situated in western Japan, nearest to Nagoya which is a little northeast of Kyoto and Osaka and West of Tokyo (Edo). I am using it as Sesshoumaru's getaway estate.  His main seat of power is in Kyoto (Heian) – in my fics anyhow…

Taiyoukai – great youkai, inferring higher demon

Youkai – demon

Youki – demonic energy

Sensei – teacher

Hanyou – half demon

Kitsune – fox spirit/demon (usually very playful and tricky)


End file.
